Do I ship it?

GamesOutbreak SimOutbreak Sim + Sci-fi

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Sci-fi Outbreak Sim?

Outbreak Sim + Sci-fi

Only 15 developers shipped a Sci-fi Outbreak Sim in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Calyx, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 20 more are announced.

Verdict: long shot, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270, ×0.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, but 1 in 20 cleared $350k, ×743 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 20 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 20 announced, ×1.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Outbreak Sim + Sci-fi
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.0k → $300 → $838 (still earning) → $4.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Outbreak Sim + Sci-fi: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $270 (exactly $270)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $13,041)
Top 5% $353k (exactly $353,109)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 37
Announced 20
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue too few recent games to read momentum, supply 1300% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Outbreak Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Sci-fi
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Outbreak Sim; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Crafting, Economy, Immersive Sim
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 73% positive over 1,425 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $270, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $350k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 20 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Outbreak Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RTSFair16 devs · median $2.6k · 14 announced
  2. + ZombiesFair45 devs · median $1.9k · 49 announced
  3. + Real Time TacticsFair12 devs · median $1.8k · 14 announced
  4. + Walking SimulatorFair11 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  5. + Survival HorrorFair22 devs · median $958 · 24 announced
  6. + City BuilderPoor odds10 devs · median $16k · 16 announced
  7. + Base BuildingPoor odds22 devs · median $13k · 30 announced
  8. + ManagementPoor odds26 devs · median $10k · 45 announced
  9. + Resource ManagementPoor odds24 devs · median $10k · 43 announced
  10. + Life SimPoor odds16 devs · median $6.1k · 26 announced
  11. + Time ManagementPoor odds12 devs · median $4.3k · 19 announced
  12. + SandboxPoor odds19 devs · median $4.0k · 28 announced

All 41 pairs on the Outbreak Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
60 Parsecs! older $9.99 3,310 90% 99k $992k (exactly $992,007) Robot Gentleman
Calyx · EA $24.99 471 88% 14k $353k (exactly $353,109) Studio 568
Project L33T: Founders Edition $19.99 525 47% 16k $315k (exactly $314,842) Targetpoint Interactive, Holmgard Games
EVOTINCTION older $29.99 173 86% 5.2k $156k (exactly $155,648) Spikewave Games
Undead Inc. older $19.99 158 27% 4.7k $95k (exactly $94,753) Rightsized Games
Survivor's Notes $6.99 352 91% 11k $74k (exactly $73,814) MYSTERY CROWN, YESPLAY
Dead 4 Now: Bio-Weapon Simulator $14.99 29 75% 870 $13k (exactly $13,041) d'Evo
Last Generation: Survival older $19.99 20 50% 600 $12k (exactly $11,994) Furious Dogs
despatch: Entity Astray older $14.99 15 60% 450 $6.7k (exactly $6,746) me.mento XR interactive AG
Rainy City: Pandemic older $7.99 28 75% 840 $6.7k (exactly $6,712) LunaBeat
Biletide $5.99 24 100% 720 $4.3k (exactly $4,313) Formic Games
Moonlit Nights · EA $2.99 14 64% 420 $1.3k (exactly $1,256) Umut Bora
SNOTROCKET™ · EA $3.99 7 100% 210 $838 (exactly $838) Sunscorched Studios
Vanishing In The Island Halphéra $8.99 1 100% 30 $270 (exactly $270) Soghoxal
Now $2.99 1 100% 30 $90 (exactly $90) Fetih Emirkulu
Signal Zero $2.99 1 0% 30 $90 (exactly $90) Hollow Frame

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.